Water Polo Assault Victim Graduates in Barcelona After Fleeing Los Angeles Private School
Aidan Romain, who alleges repeated sexual and racial abuse at Harvard-Westlake School, graduated in Barcelona after relocating to Spain in 2024.
Los Angeles Private School Assault Plaintiff Earns Degree in Spain After Alleged Abuse
Aidan Romain, a water polo player who alleges he was repeatedly sexually assaulted and subjected to racial abuse at a $52,500-a-year private school in Los Angeles, has graduated from a college in Barcelona, NY Post Metro reports.
Romain announced the milestone in an Instagram post, showing him walking across the stage at his Barcelona institution to collect his degree. He relocated to Spain in 2024 after the alleged abuse at Harvard-Westlake School forced him to leave the United States to continue his athletic career in what the lawsuit describes as a safe environment.
"Thank you to Dwight Global for providing a rigorous education while giving me the flexibility to pursue my dream and play professional water polo," Romain wrote. "One of the best parts of this journey was meeting friends from all over the world and learning alongside such an international and accomplished community."
Allegations of Abuse at Harvard-Westlake
According to court documents, teammate Lucca Van Der Woude and two others repeatedly subjected Romain — who was a minor at the time — to racist and sexual abuse between August 2022 and February 2024. The suit alleges Van Der Woude "harboured and expressed racist, antisemitic, and white-nationalist beliefs" during the period in which he abused Romain and other students.
The lawsuit states that Van Der Woude "regularly used the slur 'n—–,' made denigrating comments regarding Black people and slavery, and engaged in racially hostile conduct" directed at Romain and other minority students. It further alleges he "made repeated antisemitic statements towards Jewish students," including, according to witness accounts, telling a Jewish peer: "You stupid Jew, die in the oven."
The court papers also allege that Van Der Woude "frequently glorified sexual violence against women, made repeated comments referencing rape, regularly used racial slurs, and made offensive comments concerning slavery and racial domination."
"Indeed, Lucca Van Der Woude's sexually violent behaviour was not a secret," the suit reads, adding that his "sexually aggressive conduct and inappropriate touching of teammates were widely known within portions of the Harvard-Westlake and Los Angeles Premier water polo communities before Harvard-Westlake took meaningful action."
February 2024 Attack and School's Response
The suit describes a particularly severe incident in February 2024 in which a second teammate allegedly cornered Romain in the school's outdoor showers after practice, "grabbing his penis and striking him repeatedly in the testicles over a perceived verbal slight."
Following that alleged attack, Janine Jones — identified in the suit as Harvard-Westlake's assistant head of school for community and belonging — sent a text message to Romain's parents after they reported the assault by email. "I should be seeing Aidan shortly … but I don't want to make him uncomfortable by checking on him," Jones wrote, according to the court filing, which cites the message as "contemporaneous evidence."
Harvard-Westlake, through its lawyers, denied receiving any report from Romain's parents that their son had been sexually assaulted. The school's spokesperson told The California Post that it "unequivocally disputes many of these allegations that mischaracterise facts and the school's actions."
"The school treated reports of inappropriate behaviour in its water polo programme with urgency and seriousness, promptly initiating an investigation and complying with its mandatory reporting obligations," the spokesperson said, adding that the school "also cooperated completely with law enforcement."
The lawsuit, however, alleges Harvard-Westlake failed to report, investigate, or take protective measures after being informed of the abuse — and further accuses the school of retaliating against Romain after he came forward. "This environment emboldened perpetrators, discouraged reporting, and contributed substantially to the continuation and escalation of abuse against Plaintiff and other students," the filing states.
Alleged Perpetrator in Hiding
Van Der Woude, 18, once considered a future Olympic prospect in water polo, has not been publicly located since the lawsuit drew widespread attention. When NY Post Metro visited the Costa Mesa home of his father, Thomas "Basti" Van Der Woude — a longtime film assistant director — no one was found.
Romain, meanwhile, has moved forward. The severe emotional distress caused by the alleged abuse drove him to Spain in 2024, according to the suit. His graduation in Barcelona marks a public step in that process.
Source: NY Post Metro